Height Differences
by adamwhatareyouevendoing
Summary: Dean/Seamus through the years. Intended to be a one-shot but developed into a four chaptered work!
1. First Year

**A/N: Written by Lucinda :)**

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They met on Platform 9 ¾. Just briefly. They happened to walk into each other and then they were lost in the crowd. Such a seemingly tiny, insignificant moment for most but they remembered it forever. Over the years their friendship waxed and waned but they were always drawn back together by a mysterious force. Destiny, you could say. Love, they would say in years to come.

That first train ride was spent in each other's company; getting to know who they were, their likes and dislikes and other meaningless information that only they knew about each other. At some point the door was yanked open by a small, mousy brown-haired boy who stumbled through his words. He was Neville Longbottom and he had lost his toad. It turns out he never wanted a pet but his grandmother bought him Trevor and he really didn't want to seem ungrateful, it was just that his grandmother was awfully pushy about these kind of things, and he always lost things, and forgot things, and then Trevor was gone in the midst of the crush on the platform.

After saying they hadn't seen him and reassuring him everything would be alright, Neville left and they were nearing Hogwarts so they changed into their robes. They continued to talk about everything until the train stopped at the station. They left the train and went to the boats. They rode on different boats due to the number restrictions but as soon as they landed on the shore they met up and walked into Hogwarts together. Every year, apart from the last, they would enter the school together.

They entered the dorm and sat down on their beds which were next to each other. They helped each other unpack and decorate, which meant Seamus helped Dean put up his West Ham poster. Seamus was busy shoving socks and sweets into a drawer when he heard Dean mumble, "Help. Seamus, I… I can't reach." He had been fighting the poster for about 10 minutes.

"Give it here." Seamus replied.

Dean stuck the bottom down whilst Seamus got hold of the top of the poster and stuck that down for him. They then played cards and ate some of Seamus's sweet stash until the other boys arrived.

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	2. Fourth Year

An owl flew through his open window during the first week of the summer holidays. Dean recognised the owl at once. He took the note from the owl, gave it a treat and then opened the note. It was from Seamus asking him if he wanted to go to the Quidditch World Cup with him and his mother.

Dean rushed downstairs and asked his mum if he was allowed to go to a sporting event with a friend. Naturally, his mother agreed.

A few weeks later, the doorbell rang just as Dean finished packing. His mum hollered up the stairs and he rushed down. Seamus was lounging in the kitchen looking perfectly at home. Whilst Dean's mother went through the details, Dean and Seamus went over the list of things they would need. After double-checking everything, it was time for the off. Dean hugged his family and then reached for Seamus's hand. His mother waved goodbye and they Apparated away.

The Quidditch World Cup was extremely fun up until the whole Death Eater invasion thing. Luckily, they got out very quickly. Dean spent the rest of the summer in Ireland with Seamus and his family, exploring, taking pictures, practising his drawing skills and having a very enjoyable time.

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Fourth Year. Triwizard Tournament. The Yule Ball and they had to find partners. Every time Dean thought about asking someone it felt like a blow to Seamus's stomach. After weeks of discussions and no action, all the females they had considered had already been asked, so they decided to go with each other. They were even better friends after spending the summer in each other's company so this, they decided, would be alright. Dressed in traditional robes they entered the Great Hall. They sat out for the more flow-y, traditional waltzes but when it was a free-for-all they were on the floor with everyone else.

Hermione spotted them and came over. They danced for a while and then a slower song began to play. They tried to leave the floor but Hermione was having none of it. In her defence, she was ever so slightly hyper and very angry with Harry and Ron. She was determined to have a good time and of course she had to choose _this_ as her entertainment.

She stood next to them with a grin on her face as they danced together. She didn't think that it would mean anything to them but it really did. Seamus briefly looked up and into Dean's eyes before looking away and laughing. Fortunately, everyone accepted they were dancing together and continued as normal.

That was the night Seamus finally agreed with his subconscious. He loved Dean.

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	3. Sixth Year

Their relationship became somewhat strained during their sixth year. Dean began to go out with Ginny Weasley and he also got the Quidditch position instead of Seamus. For several weeks they only communicated with each other when other people were around. Seamus forgave Dean within a few days but he never said anything; every time he saw him with Ginny it hurt. And he didn't want it to hurt. But it did. He turned away quickly feeling himself near to tears. Then, a few weeks later, Seamus heard that Ginny and Dean had broken up.

When Dean came to him crying Seamus's heart nearly broke.

They spent hours talking and laughing to distract Dean from the heartbreak. Seamus knew that he had really loved Ginny at the end but now they were over. Dean, in those few hours, was completely dependent on Seamus and Seamus relished in it. By now he had stopped telling himself he didn't love Dean but was hell-bent on not outwardly showing it. He had lasted two years. But in those few hours alone with him he felt his resolve slipping.

Two weeks later, Harry and Ginny kissed at the Quidditch party. Dean was destroyed, and so was the glass he was holding. Seamus noticed as he slipped out of the party and followed.

Dean made his way to the Quidditch pitch to take out his frustrations on the punch bag they keep for practices. He got the feeling he was being followed, but he was so upset that his room-mate and ex-girlfriend would start a relationship so soon after Ginny and him had broken up, so he continued jogging away from the Common Room.

Seamus took a short cut and reached the training room before Dean.

Dean entered, sat on one of the benches and, without noticing Seamus's presence, burst into tears. Seamus sat down next to him and gingerly touched his shoulder. Dean jerked at the contact, realised who it was, turned round, burrowed into Seamus's right shoulder and continued to cry at the thought of Ginny dating Harry so soon after their break-up. Seamus felt a wet patch bloom on his shirt but continued to hug Dean close.

Dean then proceeded to take his frustrations out on the training punching bag whilst Seamus held it. This is why he showed no hate to either Ginny or Harry for their relationship, all feelings he had that night were discussed and then punched into oblivion. Most people thought of Seamus as a flirtatious, Irish charmer with no real feelings about anything apart from his family but Dean knew better. Twice in a few weeks he had put aside any feelings he might have and just cared for Dean. That's why they were best friends, Dean thought.

Seamus dedicated those hours to cheering Dean up and not focusing on his feelings towards Dean.

When they returned to the common room the party had died down; most people had gone to bed and those still up were either doing work (Hermione) or falling asleep where they sat. Seamus and Dean went up the stairs to their dorm. Luckily, Harry wasn't there because Seamus feared if he was all his work over the past few hours would have gone to waste.

Dean, as a force of habit, went to his desk drawer and retrieved his sketchbook and several pencils. "Can I draw?" He asked quietly. Seamus nodded and got out a Quidditch magazine out from under his bed. They sat in silence. The only noises that broke the companionable silence were the rhythmically turning of pages and the pencil strokes that were currently forming a masterpiece. After a while, Neville and Ron entered the dorm, closely followed by Harry. Seamus and Dean stopped their activities and they all got ready for bed.

At about 3 o'clock, Seamus awoke to his hangings moving. He felt a shaking body crawl in next to him and at once began the now established routine of hugging, whispering comforts and cuddling. Slowly, Dean calmed down and promptly fell asleep. Seamus looked at the shifted covers at the end of the bed and saw Dean's feet hanging off the end. He gradually moved out of the bed, fetched Dean's blanket and covered him with it. Then he got back in the bed with Dean and went to sleep.

The next morning, all the boys were awoken by screeching in the common room. It sounded awfully like Hermione, probably because it was Hermione.

"Ronald Weasley. How could you be so STUPID? Oh and 'I was owling my mother' is not a good enough excuse…"

Ron sat on the Common Room floor in front of the fire wincing at the loud shrieking issuing from Hermione. Boy, she was angry. It genuinely wasn't his fault. Finally, when half the occupants of Gryffindor traipsed down the stairs complaining about the noise she stopped. But, of course, she glared at him for the rest of the day.

Dean woke with a start. When he opened his eyes he was completely disorientated even though he should be used to waking up in a Seamus's bed by now. Seamus was sitting up on the bed, simultaneously rubbing his eyes, wincing and covering his ears. Dean sighed, turned over and walked back to his bed. They both got dressed and went downstairs.

They went about their days as usual and no-one spoke about the bed situation. From then on it was perfectly normal to see them sharing a bed.

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The death of Dumbledore was swift and shocking. Of course Seamus wanted to stay for his funeral. His mother was just being insensitive.

Seamus and Dean stood side by side as the greatest Headmaster of Hogwarts was put to rest. Silent tears made matching tracks down their faces. Everyone knew life could, and would, get a lot worse but, for then, this was the worst thing that could possibly have happened. As they parted ways after the funeral, they hugged and put more emotion into that single hug than they had ever outwardly shown.

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	4. Seventh Year

Seamus sat on the train lonely. A few people attempted to sit with him in the carriage he had always shared with Dean. But Dean wasn't there. So he glared them out of the compartment and sat by himself. He had an established routine for the train ride with Dean but Dean wasn't there so the routine was broken. As the countryside rushed past Seamus thought about their Hogwarts years and his true feelings towards Dean, but Dean wasn't there.

Dean packed his bags and left his family home distracted: Seamus was on his mind. He locked the door, posted the note explaining his departure to his family through the letterbox, leaving out any mention of his plans; he knew that Muggle-born and Half-blood families would be targeted and he didn't want his family to be punished because of him. He decided to buy a train ticket and head up towards Wales; he gathered the Death Eaters were focusing on the London area from many reports and letters from Seamus.

Seamus got off the train and met up with Ginny, Lavender, Neville and many other Gryffindor students and together they walked into the school in a show of solidarity. Greeted by a solemn Snape everyone instantly knew that this year was not going to be good. Selfishly, Seamus only wished that Dean was with them. It didn't matter that Hogwarts was not the same; he just wanted his best friend. He wanted Dean.

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Dean and Seamus both kept up with the Potterwatch broadcasts over the course of the year they were apart, and their thoughts kept drifting to each other. Dean kept thinking of Seamus whilst he was walking around with the goblins, Dirk and Ted. Seamus kept thinking of Dean whilst he was in the Room of Requirement.

Dean was captured by Snatchers and taken to Malfoy Manor where he was reunited with Luna, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ollivander. When they were rescued, Dean's only thought was 'tell Seamus how you feel you great big idiot' so he promised himself when he got back to Hogwarts, that was exactly what he was going to do. Dean loved Seamus and had done now for several years. He knew he was bisexual; he went out with Ginny the previous year, but when they broke up and Seamus was always there for him it only reinforced his feelings for him. He wasn't sure of Seamus's sexuality but they both could die, the realisation hit him hard at this point, so it was worth the risk.

Seamus sat on his bunk surrounded by people discussing Harry, the school, You-Know-Who and many other topics. Other than the few raids they did when the supplies were depleted this was how the time was spent. Most of Seamus's time, however, was spent thinking about Dean. He truly loved him. But Dean was straight. Heck, he even went out with Ginny Weasley, one of the most vivacious, beautiful, fiery women in the school. How could he compare with that?

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When Ariana appeared in the portrait and told Neville that Aberforth wanted to see him everyone fell silent. The silence stretched and stretched until Neville returned. Harry, Ron and Hermione were back. After asking about the plan Seamus allowed the others to interrogate Harry but just as Harry was about to make a come-back the tunnel door reopened and out strolled Luna followed by Dean. Seamus was ecstatic to see him, and ran to hug him. As he collided with Dean's chest, he promised to tell Dean his true feelings when (or if) they both survived the impending battle.

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Following the Battle, Seamus searched all over the castle for Dean. When he found him, he was sitting in a corner, shaking like a leaf. Seamus hugged him reassured him that it was all over but Dean pried himself away. They walked in silence to the Hospital Wing to be checked over then once they had been given the all clear, they headed down to the Great Hall.

"Dean…" started Seamus purposefully.

"Seamus…" started Dean nervously.

They nodded at each other and the simultaneously told each other the same thing. "I love you."

Those three words had never felt so right to say and had never been more true. They were telling the stories of the past year when Aberforth pulled up a chair from near them, grabbed three tankards and produced a bottle of Firewhiskey from the depths of his cloak. He immediately noticed the chemistry between them and they all began to laugh about it. Aberforth was the only one that could laugh after the horrendous battle. Everyone looked bitterly at the source of the laughter so Aberforth toasted them once more and then disappeared somewhere else, somewhere less death-ridden, to spread good cheer.

They were left alone together again.

They decided to go on a walk around the Lake. They picked their way through the mass of debris and sobbing people, stifled by the stuffy, death-filled air.

Many people would not be returning from today: Colin Creevey; Professor Lupin and his wife, Tonks; Fred Weasley; and countless others. Voldemort was gone but, naturally, he took a huge part of the wizarding community with him.

As they escaped the ruins of Hogwarts and the ruin of families, they both sighed. No one knew what was going to happen in the future, only what had just passed.

As Hogwarts burnt, rain began to pour from the grey skies, joining the wizards in mourning. Seamus and Dean sat side by side by the Lake getting soaked to the bone, studying their reflections in the broken water. The rain made short work of the fires left behind by the fighting and it began to cleanse the beautiful countryside of the horrors it had just witnessed. A sharp wind began to blow, moving the ashes around in mini tornadoes; already the cleaning of the battleground had begun. The Earth kept turning no matter what happened on it, and this was no exception.

There will always be constants, always. The four elements would always be here: fire, water, earth and air. For Dean his constant would always be Seamus. For Seamus his constant would always be Dean.

They would be together forever.

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